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Bringing ghosts back from the ghost town

I posted this on another board, and thought I would share it here as well:

While the story that my dog Jake tells about hearing mysterious footprints in Mono Mills is true, it didn't really scare us and we still joke about it today. Never really been spooked out there, fortunately, but I do have to say I seem to bring that spooky feeling home with me after spending time alone out there. Just recently got back from Cerro Gordo ghost town. which made the population of the town 3 humans, 1/2 a dozen town cats, and our 6 month old 55 pound puppy, as well as a plethora of chukar, and a couple of hummingbirds. We've become pretty comfortable up there after innumerable stays. We are always prepared for a "spooky" experience of one sort or the other, but even when pup Maggie let out an unexpected bark and lunged on her tie out chain, towards the Victor Beaudry general store/museum across the street in the late evening, we didn't get scared, and of course she was only barking at reflections in the window caused by lights in The Belshaw where we were staying.

Following our two days in Cerro Gordo, we had business in Bishop and stayed in a motel, then headed back home. That night we were very tired and didn't even unpack the Forerunner. When I shut down the house to go to bed, I looked out the front window and noticed a skeletal figure standing in the driveway of my neighbor's across the street. It looked more like a ghostly appearance I would expect to see up at Cerro Gordo. I figured my imagination was playing tricks on me, so tried to ignore it and didn't mention it to my husband. However, it did really look like some tall skinny man was standing out there just staring at their house. I could even see him turn his head once in awhile and puff on a cigerette.

It took me about 15 minutes of staring at this "apparition" or whatever it was, to decide to tell my husband. He looked and he saw the same thing - a man standing out there obviously up to no good. We decided to call 911. After another 15 minutes, in which this tall skinny man just stood out there waiting to do something he shouldn't, the police drove up. As their vehicle lights shined on the neighbors rock wall, the man totally vanished. I was totally stunned. Where did he go - what were we seeing? The police got out of their car, and we went out to talk to them. They searched the neighbors yard, back and front, and shined lights in the house. No one was to be found.

By this time, the neighbors beside us came out to see what was going on. I sheepishly said that we thought we had seen someone staring out there, but apparently we had just spent to much time up at our ghost town and brought back a ghost with us. Meantime, my husband did talk to the police about a woman in the neighborhood who prowls around everyone's property looking for cats and coyotes in the middle of the night and we were trying to catch her. They knew about her, and were happy that we were able to give them her name, then sort of laughed that we had seen nothing this time, after all.

As the police were starting to get back in their car, the neighbors that lived in the house actually came back from their vacation. They
obviously were quite concerned to see the police, and two sets of neighbors standing outside their place. We told them the whole story, and they appreciated that we at least had a good "neighborhood watch" and better safe than sorry. Meantime I explained about getting back from Cerro Gordo, and I must have seen a ghost, instead.
I thought about how the minute the lights from the police car hit their driveway and frontlawn rock wall, it all disappeared. The police were now driving off, and the rock wall and driveway was dark again except for the lone street light and their front porch light.
Here was my change to redeem myself. Two of the neighbors went in my house and looked out my dining room window. Sure enough there was the tall skinny skeletal man. It was an illusion caused by a metal post against the rock wall, a shadow from that post, and the greenery growing above the wall. I was sure glad that the neighbors saw the same illusion Roger and I both had seen! But I still can't figure out how after living here 25 years, we've never noticed it before. Still must have brought one of those ghost town ghosts back with us.